Imperfect
by Kiso
Summary: Syaoran Li has the perfect football life, including the perfect cheerleader girlfriend. So why is Syaoran suddenly drawn to enigmatic yearbook photographer Sakura Kinomoto? What happens when he no longer desires perfection?
1. Nameless

**Imperfect**

**By:** Kiso

**Summary:** Syaoran Li has the perfect football life, including the perfect cheerleader girlfriend. So why is Syaoran suddenly drawn to enigmatic yearbook photographer Sakura Kinomoto? What happens when he no longer wants perfection?

I haven't written a manga fic in forever! So here's to everybody who loves a simple high school love story! Enjoy!

---------------------------------

**One: Nameless**

As usual, we win the game against Lincoln High. They're good, but definitely not good enough to beat us. Nobody can beat us. The cheers erupt from the fans as I score the final, winning touchdown. The cheerleaders twirl and shout out their cheers.

I take off my helmet and cries of "Syaoran!" explode from the crowd. I smirk; this is my favorite part. Well, and making out with Nina after the game.

Nina, my steady girlfriend, head cheerleader, and absolutely perfect girl wraps her arms around me and kisses me on the lips. "Good job, babe."

"Thanks," I smirk. This was all I ever wanted: a hot girl, popularity, and the chance to do something I love everyday. Life was absolutely perfect.

---

Sakura Kinomoto sits in the bleachers, waiting for the perfect chance to get a shot for the yearbook. She snaps a picture just as the quarterback scores the final touchdown, earning another win for Misu High School.

She cheers along with everybody else, but she's not really cheering for the players. She's cheering for her best friend, cheerleader Tomoyo Daidouji. Tomoyo turns around and smiles at Sakura when the cheerleaders stop chanting.

Sakura climbs down the steps cautiously; she was always scared of falling down the too-far-apart bleachers. She gives Tomoyo a big hug and snaps a picture of her.

"You were so good! I would be scared of them dropping me!" Sakura squealed, referring to the time when the cheerleaders threw Tomoyo up into the air.

"No way! It was so much fun!" Tomoyo beamed. Another cheerleader came up to Tomoyo and said, "Hey, Coach wants us! Come on!" Tomoyo waved goodbye to Sakura and walked away.

Sakura stood there, looking for a picture to take. She spotted the quarterback and tried to remember his name. She rarely ever came to the football game; she was usually assigned to pictures of the students. "Umm...Li! Li Syaoran!"

---

I turned around as someone called out my name. There was the yearbook girl, her camera in her hands, as usual. As I walked over to her, she put her camera in front of her face. "Can I get some pictures for the yearbook?"

I smiled. "Sure." I did some football poses and she just snapped away on her school camera. "That good?"

"Yeah! Thanks so much!" she finally moved the camera from her face.

I gasped and stepped back. It occurred to me that she had taken a few pictures of me before, but I had never seen her face. Her high cheekbones shimmered in the dim light, her full pinks lips pulled up into a huge smile. But what captured me the most was her eyes. Her huge emerald eyes lit up her whole face, causing a pixie effect against her short light brown hair.

"No...no problem," I said, shaking my head and smiling. She smiled back just as Tomoyo, one of the other cheerleaders, walked over to her and said, "Hey! You wanna go out to dinner?"

"Sure!" the girl replied, her huge smile getting even bigger. I realized I didn't even know her name and I was about to ask her until Nina pulled on my arm and kissed me again. When I looked back up again, she was gone.

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I hope you guys like this idea from a hopeless fanfic author who really needs to update her other stories instead of just adding another one!

Kiso


	2. Smiles

Yay! I got a lot of good feedback for this story, so I've decided to continue (duh). 

**NOTE:**  
I always make my first chapter short just to tease people, so to everybody who said that it was short, this one won't be!

Enjoy!  
-----------------------------------------

**Two: Smiles **

**SYAORAN**

Me and Nina sat in silence, watching some dumb movie. Her fingers made slow circles on my chest underneath my shirt. I leaned over and started to kiss her, pushing myself against her more. She fell back onto the bed, taking me with her. I kissed her neck and she sighed. My hands roamed her body as her hands tangled themselves in my hair.

She arched her back as my hands went farther up her shirt. And then she pulled back and stopped me. "Not yet, Syao."

I smirked and kissed her once more before flopping down next to her. "I know, I know. Not until marriage."

"No! Not until we get married," she corrected me again. I smiled at her, but in my head, I wondered if I could get married to her. I mean, she was a beautiful girl, and she was smart and it was great to have fun with her like this and everything, but she was too...I don't know...I couldn't quite put my finger on it...too...

Something...

---

**SAKURA**

I picked at my salad while Tomoyo gushed about cheerleading. I smiled at my friend, glad to have somebody like her; somebody that would be on my side, no matter what. Tomoyo could be the most popular girl if she'd wanted to be, but, no, she'd picked me.

"It's awesome! They're gonna throw me up in the air and I'm gonna try to do a flip, you know like the professionals do it?" Tomoyo said, gesturing wildly with her hands.

I nodded, even though, honestly, I hadn't even known that there were such things as professional cheerleaders. I was about to respond, when I heard a squeal and footsteps.

"SAKU! MOYO!" Chiharu, Rika, and Naoko yelled, running towards our table. "Moyo, you looked so cute cheerleading like that! I can't believe they could just throw you up in the air like that! Saku! I bet you got some amazing pictures of the game; you always do!" Chiharu squealed.

All three of them stole chairs from another table, making the waiter frown at them. Rika smiled, stunning him with her amazing beauty. He walked over to her and said, "Would you three ladies like menus?"

"That would be great!" Rika said, flashing him her gorgeous smile. I looked around at each of my friends in turn, wondering how four such beautiful girls could all want to hang out with me, the nerdy yearbook photographer.

He walked away, stunned by the four beautiful girls at the table. As he slipped into a door marked ▒EMPLOYEES ONLY,' Chi turned to me and said, "So, is the quarterback nice? I saw you taking pictures of him. He's a hottie!"

"He has a girlfriend, Chi," Tomoyo said, laughing.

"That girl? Ugh."

"Um, I didn't really talk to him. I just took pictures of him," I said.

"Well, could I get a copy of that memory card, Saku?" she asked, making me laugh.

"I can't believe he's off the market, though," Naoko sighed. "And by her?" Suddenly, she looked at me. "I think you two would look good together."

"Us? No, I mean, I dunno, but, um, um," I flustered, trying to get a coherent sentence out, but, just then, the waiter came back with three menus, saving me.

No, I thought, we wouldn't look cute together...besides...

I couldn't bear to lose anybody else.

---

**SYAORAN**

Coach was talking about some strategy that I had already memorized, and my mind was wandering as I glanced over at the cheerleaders, trying out some new stunt. They threw Nina up into the air.

My attention fell to the left when I saw a flash of brown hair. There she was again. She was walking over to the cheerleaders, probably to talk to Tomoyo. I knew that I should be looking at Nina, hot and energetic in her cheerleading uniform, but I couldn't stop looking at the yearbook girl. She was in her school uniform, cute and petite. She sat down in the bleachers, camera in her hands, smile on her face.

"LI!" Coach yelled out, and my attention snapped back to him. "Please, won't you tell the other players what the new play is?" He said, hoping to catch me off-guard.

I sighed and repeated his play back to him, word for word. He made a face and said, "Okay, I guess that's enough for today. Go get changed."

I stepped out into the sun again, back in my regular school uniform. Nina waved at me, and I walked over and kissed her. "Hey, baby," I whispered in her ear, feeling her shiver. I was fully aware of all the other cheerleaders ogling at me, but my eyes were only on Nina.

At least, I was trying really hard to keep it that way.

---

I sat in my World History class, leaning on my hand and scribbling in my notebook, when, suddenly, she walked in.

She handed a note to the teacher, still smiling. I saw him point at one of the computers at the back of the room and faintly heard him say, "Thank you, Miss Kinomoto."

My mind reeled. Kinomoto? That was her last name. What is her first name? I wondered. I saw a girl smile at her and she smiled back. She sat at one the computers and turned it on, starting to type up a paper.

"Okay, class, get with your partners and discuss your oral projects. Those are due Friday, so don't waste time!" The teacher said, erasing the board.

I looked around the room; my partner wasn't here today, so I just opened to a blank page in my notebook and started writing about...nothing, actually. I couldn't stop glancing up at her; she was just sitting at the computer, typing away, still smiling.

I glanced up once more and my blood boiled. There was a guy sitting next to her, talking her, making her laugh. I have no clue why, but I wanted to go over there and punch him.

Finally, the bell rang, and she got up, leaving the guy to sit in awe. He stood up and asked, "Wait! What's your name?"

She smiled, not turning around, but I heard her loud and clear. "Kinomoto. Sakura Kinomoto."

---

**SAKURA**

"Moyo! I really don't want to go on a blind date!" I said, watching as Tomoyo rifled through her enormous closet, trying to find an outfit for me.

"But, Saku, you won't be alone! Me and Eriol will be there, too. And if you don't like the guy or if he's a jerk to you, we can leave, okay?" Tomoyo said, pulling out a yellow shirt that looked like a corset.

"Promise?" I said.

"Promise! Okay, how does this look?" She asked me, holding up the corset shirt and a pair of light blue shorts.

"Cute. But do you think it'll fit me?"

"Of course! These shorts are too small for me, and you can always tighten this shirt," Tomoyo said, looking so happy that I just couldn't say no.

"Okay. I'll go get changed!"

The outfit actually looked really cute on me, and as soon as I came out, Moyo got a little too snap happy. She pulled out her digital camera and took picture after picture after picture.

"Isn't the battery gonna run out?" I said, smiling as the flash went off again.

"Nope! I just charged it!" Tomoyo grinned at me and put her camera down. "Okay. You want a purse? Or a clutch?"

"Purse, I guess."

"Okay! Now we're all ready! Let's go," Tomoyo squealed, linking her arm with mine and snapping another picture.

"Let's."

---

"Why, hello, Miss Kinomoto. Sakura Kinomoto," said my blind date. He just happened to be the extremely cute guy who had talked to me today when I was supposed to be typing a paper.

I smiled. "Hello. I'm Sakura, of course."

"I'm Adam. Adam Smith," he answered.

"Oh. You speak wonderful Japanese," I said, sitting in the chair he had just pulled out for me. I glanced over at Tomoyo, who was grinning at me. I winked and she squealed.

"Thank you," Adam replied, taking a seat opposite me, next to Eriol.

Tomoyo scooted in next to me, squeezing my arm. "So, Adam, how long have you been in Japan?"

"Almost ten years. My father moved here for business," he answered, ever so politely.

It turns out Adam was actually a really good set-up; he was conversational, polite, and he was always smiling. Oh, and it helped that he was really cute, too!

By the end of the night, I was actually really attracted to him. I saw Tomoyo glancing at me, a questioning look on her face. I knew what she was thinking; was I really ready to get out there again?

I smiled at her. I was ready. Really ready.

Adam drove me home and walked me to my door. I thought it was going to be one of those awkward, post-first-date moments at the door, under the porch light, but it really wasn't.

"I had fun," Adam said easily, still smiling.

"Me, too," I replied.

He leaned in and I could feel his hot breath on my neck as he lightly pressed his lips onto my cheek. A gentleman kiss, I thought, grinning. "I'll call you," he whispered into my ear.

And when I entered my house, I could still feel the smile on my face.

-----------------------------------  
Sorry for the late update!  
**NOTE:**  
I might not update for a while; exams are coming up and I really need to study and buckle down! So if you don't see me around for a while, I haven't deserted any of my stories! Thank you.

Much love!  
Kiso


	3. Curveball

Well, my exams are over! I hope I did good on them. If I did bad, you guys probably won't see me around too much! Ha ha! 

Enjoy chapter three!  
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**Three: Curveball**

**SAKURA**

"Saku," Adam said, tugging gently on my shirt. "Look." He was pointing at something. I looked over to where he was pointing, but I couldn't see anything.

"What?" I said.

"Look at the tree. Up at the nest."

"Aww!" I squealed. "That baby bird is about to learn how to fly!" I smiled and snuggled against Adam. He loved nature and he always pointed out cute things.

He kissed the top of my head and laughed.

"What's funny?"

"You. Your hair always has the same smell. But it's a good smell, of course."

"What's it smell like?"

He grabbed my chin and gently kissed me. "Sakura blossoms," he whispered into my ear.

I shivered and giggled. He always knew just what to say. "Thanks," I breathed as he leaned on me.

---

**SYAORAN**

"Ugh," I accidentally said aloud as I saw him kiss her.

"What is it, Syao?" Nina said, looking in the direction I was looking.

I blocked her view and said, "Oh, you know. Teachers. Ugh."

She laughed. "I know!"

I tried to laugh, but it was half-hearted. I looked over at them again. Sakura was leaning on him, smiling. He was pointing up at the sky. She laughed and said something to him. I hated the way she looked at him.

I turned away and kissed Nina forcefully, trying to take all my anger out on her lips. I pulled away from her, leaving her gasping for air.

"My, my, my, Syaoran. You're so eager today. So, are we doing something after school today?" Nina asked, making little swirls on my shirt with her fingers.

"I can't. Football practice. Coach says it's gonna be extra long because none of us are taking it seriously enough, apparently."

"What? But you've won every game! God. Which a prick," she said, rolling her eyes. She threw her sandwich into her paper bag and pushed it off to the side.

"Hey, I gotta go. I have a geometry quiz to take really quick. I'll catch you later," I said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"I love you," she said, kissing me on the lips.

I slipped away, saying nothing more than, "Bye." I knew she was disappointed and maybe angry, but I didn't feel that way about her. Maybe I did once, but not now.

---

**SAKURA**

"Oh, no! I'm gonna be late! I gotta go, Adam," I said, scrambling around, trying to gather up all my stuff. "Bye!" I dashed inside, not at all looking where I was going.

I bumped into somebody, a strong guy, and I fell backwards and scattered my stuff everywhere. I made a strange noise and hit the ground. "Oh no," I groaned. Now I was definitely going to be late for my test!

The guy turned around; it was the football quarterback. "Oh! Sa--I'm sorry!"

I smiled and said, "No, no. It's my fault. I really wasn't watching where I was going. I was...in...a hurry." I stopped talking when I noticed that he was staring intently at me; I thought he might be mad. "Um. Sorry again. I'll just pick up my stuff..."

"Wait!" he said, holding his hand out to me. "Let me help you. It really was my fault, just standing out in the middle of the hallway like that. I'll pick up your stuff."

"You really don't have to. I can-"

"I will," he said, flashing a smile at me.

"Thank you," I said.

He handed me my stuff and said, "I'm Li Syaoran, by the way."

"Kinomoto Sakura," I replied, taking my stuff back. "Thank you so much. I'll see you around!" I smiled at him and turned around, walking away from him.

A little part of me told me I shouldn't have.

---

**SYAORAN**

Don't walk away, I thought to myself. I wanted to reach out, touch that soft brown hair, lean down, kiss those smiling pink lips.

I kept watching her until she turned the corner. The bell rang, but I couldn't move. This is wrong, I told myself. I have Nina. She's perfect, I kept repeating. Perfect.

But maybe that was what I didn't like.

---

I could feel Nina's tongue lolling around in my mouth as we lounged around in my room after another game--which we won, of course. At this point, I would've taken it a little further with Nina, but this time, I couldn't. And I wouldn't.

"Syaoooo," Nina whined when I didn't kiss her back. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry. I'm just tired," I replied, lying to her for what must've been the thousandth time. The truth was, I was thinking of breaking it off with Nina.

"Oh. That game must've worn you out. I'm sorry for pushing you. My big, strong quarterback must be tired. I guess we can just relax for a while, if you want."

"Yeah," I said softly, closing my eyes.

"Syaoran! Syaoran!" I heard somebody saying softly. I thought it was Nina trying to wake me up. I considered not opening my eyes for a second, but I did. Reluctantly.

It wasn't Nina.

It was her. Sitting there next to me, smiling like always. "Syaoran, look!" she said, pointing up at the sky. "That cloud looks like a balloon! And there's the string!" She laughed and turned to me again. "Do you see it, Syaoran? It's so beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you," the dream Syaoran said.

She giggled and lay down in my arms, but I knew it wasn't this amazingly beautiful girl I was holding. I was holding Nina, my current girlfriend. Nina, who was once the love of my life. Nina, who was, now, a girl that I didn't feel strongly about anymore.

"Syaoran," the dream Sakura sighed. "I--"

"I have to go, Syao," the real Nina whispered in my ear. "I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed my lips and I could feel her pause, waiting for me to wake up and kiss her back. And I knew I should've. But...

I didn't want to.

I didn't want to wake up to Nina, the girl that had lost her lightning, to me at least. I wanted to go back to Sakura, the green-eyed girl that was, for now, in my arms.

---

**SAKURA**

_Ding dong,_ went the doorbell._ Ding dong ding dong ding dong._

"I'm coming, Tomoyo!" I yelled, knowing that only she was this impatient.

"Hurry, Saku! I have news! Big news!" she yelled.

I opened the door and she bounded in, dressed in a short black shirt, a hot pink tube top, and her beloved yellow knee high boots. It should've looked like she'd just skinned Big Bird, but, on her, it absolutely worked.

"What? What's so big?" I asked as she whizzed past me, going into the kitchen.

"Huh?" she grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and turned to me. "Oh! Oh yeah! Get dressed! We're going out!"

"Why?"

"My gosh, Saku. You ask so many damn questions. We need to party, you silly girl!" Tomoyo said, grabbing my hand and looking at the ceiling dramatically.

"Um. Yeah. Okay." I laughed.

"And don't worry about the outfit; I brought one for you!" she beamed.

"It doesn't look like yours, does it?" I joked, glancing down at her boots.

"Ha ha. Just wait here; I'll be right back," she said, slipping out of my house. A second later, she was back, holding a plastic bag. "Change into this!"

"What--"

"C'mon, Saku, be a little spontaneous!" she smiled and waved the bag around.

"Okay," I replied, grabbing the bag.

---

Twenty minutes later, we were in Tomoyo's car, driving to a secret place. I was in skinny black jeans, a yellow off-the-shoulder top, and--I had to admit it--cute pink boots on my feet.

The trees became a blur as Tomoyo merged onto the highway and sped up. "So who else is gonna be there?"

"Like, everybody from school," Tomoyo said, smiling.

I laughed, closing my eyes and leaning back in the seat. "I'm sure this is gonna be fun, Moyo, but I really just wanted to stay home tonight."

Tomoyo's smile became warm as the words came out of her mouth. "Sakura. Things have been going bad for you for a while, and they're finally starting to look up. I just...I really want you to be happy, Sakura. So does Eriol. So does--"

"Adam," I sighed. "You're right. Thanks for caring about me, Moyo. You're the best friend ever."

"I know, right?"

---

"Sakura!" I heard a voice yell, and I thought it was Adam, but when I turned around, I realized that it wasn't. It was Eriol. "Hi, you! I haven't seen you in, like, forever."

"Are you drunk?" I asked him, holding him as he leaned on me.

"Oh, silly, silly, Saku. I am not drunk! I am simply merry! Ha ha ha! Ah ha ha ha!" he laughed and laughed until he saw Tomoyo. He straightened up, said, "Excuse me, Sakura," and walked over to her, not stumbling at all. Maybe he _was_ just merry.

"Hey, beautiful," a voice whispered in my ear, an arm snaking itself around my waist.

"Hey," I said softly, leaning against him.

"Tomoyo drag you here?" he asked.

"Yep. But now I'm...glad I came," I said, relishing in the feel of his lips on my hair.

"Me too, Sakura. Me too. Come on, let's go get something to drink," he said, pulling me toward the stairs.

He opened the door to a nearly empty room and walked in, dragging me in, too. He shut the door behind him. "Sit, Sakura."

"Why? What is this?" I asked, looking around. There was just a bed and a floor lamp in the room, the rest of the space occupied only by dust.

"Just sit, okay?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and refused to budge. "Why should I?"

"Because I fucking said so," he said, his voice low and gravelly.

"Too damn bad," I replied, trying to push myself around him.

He grabbed my arms and pushed me down onto the bed. I kicked and flailed but he just kept advancing onto me, trying to pull down my jeans. He had almost pulled down my underwear when I finally got a good aim and kicked him right where I knew it would hurt.

While he keeled over in pain, I jumped up off the bed and ran out of the room, pulling up my jeans as I did so. I soared down the steps, searching desperately for Tomoyo.

"Tomoyo!" I cried out, not realizing I was crying until I tasted the hot, salty tears streaming down my face.

Tomoyo turned around, her face becoming grim when she saw me. "Sakura! Sakura! Oh my God! What happened?"

I couldn't say anything because the sobs had overtaken me. He betrayed me, I thought to myself. I'm so stupid!

Tomoyo hugged me and I heard her cry out, "Eriol!"

"What is it, Moy-Sakura!" I heard Eriol say, his voice worried.

I felt Tomoyo shake her head and then, even though she was whispering, I heard her say, "Find him." And I knew that the look in her eyes implied that she wanted him to do much, much more than that.

---

**SYAORAN**

This has to end, I thought to myself as Nina drove away, a I'm-not-happy-Syaoran-actually-I'm-fully-pissed look on her face. She had pushed herself onto me and tried to get me to go further with her, something that she had sworn never to do. I had just pushed her off, trying to tell her that I didn't feel that way about her anymore, but she had stormed off in a huff before I could say anything.

"This had to end," I said out loud, burying my face in my hands.

"What does?" my cousin, Eriol, said.

"Me and Nina," I clarified.

Eriol sprang up from my computer chair and yelled, "What? Why?"

"Whoa. Don't act like this is the end of the world."

Eriol sighed. "This is you and Nina. She's like, the second hottest girl in the school, and you, you, Syaoran, have her. And you're gonna let her go?"

"I don't feel that way about her anymore, Eriol! There's no more spark!"

"When did this happen?"

I knew exactly when it had happened. The day I saw Sakura smile at me, that beautiful pink-lipped smile. "I...I don't know, man. I've been thinking this for...for a while."

"But, dude, it's Nina! She's the head cheerleader, you're the football quarterback! It's, like, law that you two stay together! Law!"

"I don't care about that! I just--I just don't like Nina anymore!"

Eriol sat down across from me and gave me a serious face. "Who is she?"

"Who?"

"The other girl that stole your heart."

I chuckled. The words sounded so weird coming from Eriol. "Nobody," I lied as Sakura popped into my head, smiling and pointing out the clouds.

"Wow, Syaoran. That is really lame," he said, looking straight at me. "'Nobody.' Bullshit. You were, like, totally in love with Nina until a few days ago. Tell me or I will tell the whole school your secret. I swear to God."

"Idiot," I muttered under my breath. "But she has a boyfriend, Eriol. And it seems like she really likes him. Really likes him," I repeated as the lunch scene played over and over again in my head.

Eriol groaned, threw his hands up, and yelled, "JUST TELL ME!"

"Sakura!" I blurted out.

"Kinomoto?" Eriol said, his hands dropping to his sides, his eyes widening.

"Yes," I murmured.

"She doesn't have a boyfriend anymore," he said quietly, his voice angry.

"What? How do you know?"

"I'm friends with her. Her boyfriend...hurt her. Badly."

There was only one thing bad enough to make Eriol speak in that way. And suddenly I saw it. Him on top of her. But her face; I couldn't picture her face. I had never seen that amazingly angelic face without a smile on it. I could never imagine anyone hurting that innocent, beautiful soul. I couldn't say a word.

Eriol looked at me, right at me, and said gravely, "If you were to go out with Sakura, and you were to hurt her, Syaoran Li, I could promise you that you would never see the light of day ever again. And I mean that with every fiber of my being. Sakura is the most forgiving person in the world, but I am not, Syaoran."

This I could reply to. "I would never hurt her. If there's one promise I can keep, it is that one. She...she's so pure. So beautiful. She's an angel and...God I just...I want her to be happy."

Eriol's eyes softened and his voice did, too, as he said, "I think you could make her happy. You're a great guy, Syaoran. I'm sorry; I just...I really care about Sakura a lot, and I can't stand to see her get hurt anymore."

"What I want most is to hold her in my arms and protect her from the rest of the world," I said, looking away.

"No wonder you don't want to be with Nina anymore. So when are you going to break up with her?"

"Soon," I answered after a while, having forgotten all about Nina. "I feel like I'm cheating on her with my heart, you know?"

"So...do you think this change happened before you met Sakura?" Eriol asked me, looking straight at me again.

"I...I think so. But...Nina...Nina might be great for some other guy...but I feel like...for me...she's too...too..."

The phone interrupted me and I picked up the receiver, answering with a quick, "Hello?"

"I--what? I'll...I'll be right there," I said, standing up and hanging up the phone.

Eriol stood up, too and said, "What? What happened?"

"Nina got into an accident."

----------------------------------------  
Tee hee hee! Nothing much to say! I hope you liked and I hope you guys didn't mind waiting so long!

Oh, and I did good on my exams! No lower than a B!

**P.S.**  
And if any of you are wondering, when Eriol said, "She's the second hottest girl in school," Tomoyo was his number one!

:D

Kiso


	4. Scary Movies

**Four: Scary Movies  
**

**SAKURA**

I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. I couldn't move.

All I could do was cry.

And cry.

And cry.

It's been a year.

I miss you.

--

**SYAORAN**

"Shit, shit, shit," I muttered to myself as I sped down the highway, driving towards the hospital. "_Fuck_," I added, just because.

What was I going to do? I couldn't just break up with Nina for another girl right after she'd been in an accident. What kind of dick was I if I did?

But…Sakura. I wanted to protect her. I wanted to protect her _so badly_. I wanted to find that bastard that had hurt her and kill him.

The speedometer went up and I gripped the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles turned white. I nearly missed the exit for the hospital. I quickly found a parking spot and rushed into the emergency center, giving the secretary Nina's name.

"Room one sixty-five," she said, her voice bored.

I nodded my thanks and went to find Nina's room. When I did, I knocked on the door, secretly hoping Nina would be asleep.

"Come in," came a weak voice. Nina's.

I entered the room and was hit by the hospital smell of Lysol and plastic gloves. My nostrils kind of burned, but as soon as I saw Nina, the smell was erased from my mind.

She was lying on the hospital bed, a cast around her arm, a bandage on her forehead. Her hair was shorter, much shorter; it lay in uneven strands around her sad, bruised face.

"Syaoran," she said quietly, not quite smiling. Her eyes were puffy and red.

"Nina," I said, afraid to step closer. Afraid to make her think I was all there. Truth be told, part of me was wondering was Sakura was doing. I shook my head and focused on Nina, the girl who thought I loved her with all my heart.

"Syaoran," Nina repeated, closing her eyes. "I'm so sorry I got mad at you. I realized that all of that stupid shit we fight about is…well…stupid."

I nodded, out of it. I could barely follow what she was saying; my ears were filling with the sound of the bottom of the ocean, like they were connected to a giant shell. A warm feeling overtook my body and I realized that I needed to get out of Nina's room.

I looked at Nina; her eyes were closed, her breathing steady. Sleeping.

I fled out of the room and didn't stop running until I was in front of my car, hands covering my face, shoulders shaking with an unknown sadness.

I shakily pulled out my cell phone and dialed Eriol's number.

"Yo, Syao. How's Nina?" he answered.

"I-I don't know. I don't know anything anymore, Eriol. I don't love Nina. I don't," I said, my voice sounding far away, like I was just watching a play about this sad, confused idiot, not participating in it.

"Dude, calm down. Where are you?"

"The hospital. I-I need to get out of here. Shit, Eriol. _Fuck!_ What am I going to do? You know how much of a dick I would be if I broke up with Nina right now?"

"A big one…?"

I groaned. "I'm coming over."

"Sure, if you wanna hang at my house by yourself."

"What?"

"I'm with Moyo."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later," I said, hanging up before he could reply.

I got in my car and drove and drove and drove until my gas tank was almost empty. I turned off my car on some random street, leaning my head against my seat.

"Geez," I muttered to myself. "I'm hopeless."

All of a sudden, I heard light footsteps and a voice call out, "Touya!" The footsteps got closer and closer and somebody tapped on my window lightly.

I rolled down my window and there she was; it had to be some kind of sign or something.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I thought you were somebody else! My brother—T-Touya—he has a car that looks like yours. Well…I feel stupid…so…hi!" Sakura said, her eyes shining with light and her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

I laughed, not at all minding that she had knocked on my window. "Hey. What are you doing at home on a Thursday night?"

She laughed, her eyes closing as she did so. "What's so special about Thursday nights?"

I motioned for her to lean in, partly so I could whisper to her, partly so I could be close to her. "There's a scary movie marathon on tonight."

She smiled. "Oh is there?"

I nodded.

"Then why are you just sitting in your car?"

She had me. "Oh…I was so scared that I…just had to take a drive."

"Big strong football man," she teased.

"Mhm," I said, leaning closer to her.

**SAKURA**

My palms were sweating but I tried to smile. Syaoran Li was mere inches from me! I could see the light brown strands of his hair, the blue hidden in his brown eyes.

I shook my head. He was with Nina, and I had bad luck with relationships. I wondered idly if there really was a scary movie marathon on TV.

I shivered; it was getting clod, and late, I noticed.

"Are you cold?" he said quickly, his eyebrows furrowing.

I told myself that it was just normal concern, not anything special. "Mm…a little bit. The nights are always so chilly."

"Go inside. I don't want you to get sick," he said quietly.

I nodded. "Don't watch too many scary movies," I teased, smiling at him and starting to walk away. I turned around and was almost on my driveway when he called out.

"Hey!"

I turned around.

"Next Thursday," he said. I could hear his smirk.

I coughed, hoping to cover up my blush. "O-okay. Bye, Li!"

"Syaoran!"

I smiled. "Sakura," I said, turning and walking into my house.

I closed the door and slid down the dark wood, burying my face in my hands. After everything that had happened, I was developing another crush? But Syaoran was nice.

Adam was nice.

Syaoran played football.

Takeshi played soccer.

How could I think he would be different? How could I sit there and hope and pray that he would be different?

Because I was Sakura Kinomoto.

"_Okay. Describe me in one word," I said, smiling at him, holding up the Truth card that was kind of a dare._

"_One word…tough," he replied, his blue eyes shining._

"_Tough? That's the word?"_

"_No," he laughed. "Describing you in a word is tough. Um…spunky."_

_I giggled. "Spunky? What does that even mean?"_

"_It means you never give up."_

_I could feel my face developing an expression of wonder. "Why do you say that?"_

"_Because you're Sakura Kinomoto."_

**SYAORAN**

I drove away from Sakura's house feeling elated and confused. Had I set up a date? If I showed up next Thursday, would she be there? Or would she come out of her house and laugh at me for being stupid?

I shook my head; she wouldn't do that.

Nina's face popped into my brain unexpectedly; she _would_ do that.

"Fuck," I said under my breath, quickly turning into a familiar street. I parked on Eriol's driveway and got out of the car.

Eriol came out of his house just as I was about to knock on the door; I accidentally rapped on his forehead.

"Huh?" he blurted out.

"Hey," I said, a little embarrassed.

"Er. Hi."

"I was kinda hoping you wouldn't be home," I admitted.

"Why?" Tomoyo shouted from inside somewhere. "So you wouldn't have to admit you went to see Sakura?" She sing-songed her name.

Eriol smirked. "You know where she lives?"

"No. I just, um, ended up on her street."

"Is there really a scary movie marathon?" Tomoyo asked. I still couldn't see her.

I mumbled something as Eriol started to chuckle. Then he suddenly turned serious. He only said one word: "Nina."

"I know," I groaned. "I know."

"Oh! Come in, come in!" Eriol bursted out all of a sudden. "Tomoyo can help."

"I can?" Tomoyo said. I could finally see her; she was just sitting on the couch, staring at the blank TV screen. I pointed to it. "Eriol was supposed to get the DVD's out of the car. Then you came. And this is more important. Sit down, Syaoran Li."

I'd only spoken to Tomoyo a few times and, to be honest, she intimidated me. She was loud and demanding but still nice, always so sure of what she was doing and saying. I sat down.

"Okay. First things first. You hurt Sakura, you think of hurting Sakura, you look at Sakura the wrong way, you disrespect Sakura, you be mean to Sakura, you--" Tomoyo ranted on until Eriol put a hand on her shoulder. She took a breath. "Anyways. You hurt Sakura, and I swear to God that you'll wake in a box on its way to Cuba. Because that girl is the sweetest, purest thing in the world and she's been through more shit than she deserves, okay?"

I nodded, kind of scared. I was sure she was serious. "I wouldn't hurt her. I swear, Tomoyo. Please. I…God…I can't explain it," I groaned.

Tomoyo smiled widely. "He likes her, Eriol. That's just what Sakura does to guys."

My head snapped up at the comment. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't freak out. I don't mean anything like that. It's just that Sakura is so nice but shy and you wanna make a move on her, right?" She paused for a second so that I could nod. "But you're afraid. Because, like I said, she's just so damn nice. And she never understands when guys are hitting on her." She shook her head, her smile tender.

I smiled, too; Sakura was exactly like that.

"She called me and told me what happened," Tomoyo grinned. Eriol laughed and looked away, covering his mouth.

I looked away, too; it was kind of embarrassing. "Nina," I mumbled.

"Oh. Right," Tomoyo said, a dark look crossing her face. "Nina. I…I honestly don't know. Going behind Nina's back and liking and flirting with Sakura is wrong. Breaking up with Nina in her time of need is wrong."

"Is there anything that's right?"

She frowned. "I don't know yet, Li. The doctor is currently out."

--

I went to see Nina again on Saturday; she looked a lot better. Somebody had cut her hair evenly and the bruises on her face were starting to yellow and fade.

"Hey, Syao," she said, smiling. Her voice sounded stronger.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

"So much better! But it seems like all that's ever on this TV is some Spanish soap operas," she sighed, clicking the TV off and looking at me. "How are you?"

"Me? I'm, um…the same, I guess…" I glanced up at the clock. "Oh, crap! I have to get to practice, Nina!" I got off the chair.

She touched my arm and said, "Okay. Have fun, Syao," she smiled at me.

I nodded and ducked out of the room quickly. I saw a male nurse walking through the hall and a smirk crossed my face. I gestured to Nina's room and said, "She's kind of hungry."

He went into the room and I heard her giggle after a moment.

Score.

--

**SAKURA**

I walked through the park, snapping random pictures of random things. The good thing about being on the yearbook committee was that they gave me more film than I ever really needed so I just used it on silly pictures. Me and Tomoyo had filled up two albums with pictures we'd taken using the yearbook's film.

"Sakura," someone behind me called. The voice sent a chill of fear down my back and an explosion of rage through my body.

I kept walking, increasing my speed.

"Sakura, please talk to me!" Adam said, easily catching up to me.

I stopped and turned to face him. "You—you—YOU'RE AN ASS!" I was angry at myself that _that_ was the best thing I could come up with, but I knew that I wasn't going to think of anything better. I started running, tears of anger flowing down my face.

I wish Takeshi was still here; he would know what to do. All _I_ could do was say something stupid, run, and cry. And then be outrun.

He stopped in front of me and I crashed into him. He grabbed my arms as I tried to get away. "Sakura, come on! Please! I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. I was so stupid. Come on, please. Forgive me. Please. Will you?"

My eyebrows knitted together and I could feel my knee coming up, without me even thinking about it. I felt it make contact and I felt him let go of me and go down. "Does that answer your question?" I ran and ran and I didn't stop running until I was leaning against my car, wheezing and panting and, strangely, laughing.

My cell phone rang and I answered it without even looking at who was calling. "H-h-hello?" I said, sounding like I was dying.

"Saku? Are you okay? What the hell?" she added when I burst into giggles.

"I—it's nothing. Wh-what's up?" I took a deep breath, but the laugh just bubbled up again.

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering if you wanted to hang out," she said slowly, sounding concerned.

"Of course! Hee hee! Where?"

"My house?"

"Sure! I'll be there in a little bit."

"Okay. Sakura?" Tomoyo said before I could hang up.

"Yeah?"

"Take some medicine."

And then the laugh just started again.

--

"_What?_" Tomoyo shrieked as I told her what had happened at the park. "Adam? He had the _nerve_ to _talk_ to you? _He had the nerve to touch you?_"

"Moyo, calm down, calm down. It's okay, honestly. I mean, I was scared at first, but like, he wouldn't have done anything out in the open like that," I shuddered, wondering if he would've.

She shook her head. "Ugh. That…that…that…"

"Ass?" I offered.

"_That ass!_"

I sighed and wracked my brain, trying to think of a way to calm her down. I smiled and said, "Let's go buy shoes!"

She grumbled something unintelligible.

"I'll try on heels," I said, smiling wider.

She looked at me and sighed, giving in. "Let's go buy shoes."

That Thursday, I waited for him.

I sat out on the sidewalk, looking up at the sky that was overflowing with skies. I shivered as a cold breeze blew against me. I wondered if he had just been messing with me last week.

"Hey," his voice came from somewhere in the darkness. "Aren't you freezing?"

"Um…no. Well, actually, yes, but…I have a blanket!"

**SYAORAN**

A smile crossed my lips as I saw her hold up the blanket, grinning victoriously. "Then put it to use and wrap it around yourself."

She looked down at the blanket and then at me. "Aren't…you cold?"

I laughed softly. "Men don't get cold."

"Oh, what_ever_. You just have that big jacket! So…is there a scary movie marathon on tonight?" she asked, throwing the blanket over her shoulders.

I shook my head. "Funny movies. All the classics."

"Really? That's so neat!"

She smiled, lighting up her face, the sky, the world, it seemed.

Lighting up my heart.

**Blabber:**

Oh I hope you guys liked it! I love writing this story; it makes me happy!

(:

**To My Reviwers:**

_Rosedreamer101:_ Haha Sakura is number one to Syaoran. And, sure, I guess she could be number three on Eriol's list.

_Whitewave16:_ Syaoran originally went out with Nina only because of the whole quarterback/head cheerleader thing, and then he fell for her because he felt he kinda had to. But he likes Sakura just…naturally.

_Ruby Orchard:_ Oh yes, details about Saku's past will be coming out. Slowly. Ha ha.

_Musette Fujiwara:_ You'll just have to read to find out!

And thank you everybody else for just taking time to write me a review! Every single one puts a smile on my face.


	5. Photographs

**Five: Photographs**

**SAKURA**

I pulled my jacket tighter around me and tried to hold my camera, but my hands were shaking too much. It was too cold for a football game. I quickly held up the camera and snapped a picture without even looking at what I was taking a picture of.

The cheerleaders looked out of sync, lost without their head cheerleader, Nina. I wondered how she was doing. A car accident, I thought with a shudder. How horrible. Syaoran's face popped into my head without warning and I found myself blushing. _Oh. Right,_ I thought to myself. _Him and Nina are going out._

I sighed a little bit. We scored another touchdown. I looked around. There weren't even ten people at the game. They were all probably just sitting at home, curled up with a book, drinking some nice, hot tea. I wished I could be doing that.

"Why do they suddenly have me all over sports?" I said out loud. I shook my head. I snapped another quick picture, probably only my third one, as we won the game. "Yay us," I murmured as I got up to leave.

"Saku!" a familiar voice called my name.

I turned around, having completely forgotten about my plans to go see a movie with Tomoyo.

"Were you about to leave?" Tomoyo asked in a fake scolding tone, jutting out her hip.

"It's just really cold. Cold makes me forgetful," I replied.

Tomoyo laughed and hugged me. "You're just forgetful by nature, sweetie!"

"Oh! Before I forget--" Tomoyo laughed again "—could you tell the cheerleaders to get together for a few quick shots? The editor said there weren't enough of you guys last time."

Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "He's just a perv. But hold on just a sec, I'll go tell them!"

The girls got together, all smiles and pom poms. I snapped a few pictures of them and then suddenly looked behind them, to the football players. Syaoran was talking to one of the other players, smiling. And then he started laughing and before I knew it my finger had pressed down on the shutter button and I was looking down at the most beautiful picture I had ever taken.

"Okay, Sakura, let us see the pictures!" one of the girls squealed, reaching for the camera.

I automatically pulled the camera towards me, accidentally taking a picture of the girl, startling her. "No! Um, well, I want it to be a surprise! Um…yeah." I laughed nervously and took a step backwards.

"Photographer stuff!" Tomoyo said, smiling, breaking free from the group and putting an arm around my shoulder. "Well, I'll see you girls tomorrow! Bye!"

When we were almost to Tomoyo's car, she looked at me and said, "Can I see the pictures?"

I blushed fiercely and looked away from Tomoyo. She was the last person that I wanted to see the pictures. "I…I really do want them to be a surprise."

She pouted a little. Then suddenly her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, I think Eriol is getting mugged!"

"What? Where?!" I said, looking all around me. It was too dark to really see anything. I felt Tomoyo come close to me and grab the camera, then run away. "Tomoyo! No! Please don't look--"

Tomoyo turned to me and grinned the biggest grin I had ever seen. Ever.

I turned around quickly and started walking away from her.

"Sakura, oh my gosh--" Tomoyo started, walking behind me.

"I…I know! The pictures of the cheerleaders are great, aren't they? That is r-really a quality camera, isn't it?" I blurted out, speeding up, my blush increasing with every step.

Tomoyo caught up to me and stopped me by grabbing my shoulders and standing in front of me. She was smiling.

"What?" I muttered.

She held out my camera, the heartbreakingly beautiful picture of Syaoran on the monitor. I couldn't help it; a smile broke out on my face.

"Sakura Kinomoto! Ah! This is so exciting!" Tomoyo said giddily. "You little minx!"

"Huh?" I said.

She just giggled and turned me so that we were walking towards her car again. She was still holding my camera. The picture had gone dark. "Let's go! We need a plan! Plan Li!"

"Wait, Moyo. Plan? What about Nina?"

She stopped for a second, her brow furrowing, and then she was just walking again. "Nothing to worry about! Leave this to me, hun!"

--

**SYAORAN**

Eriol was blabbering away about something as we walked to my car when suddenly, "Oh my gosh, I think Eriol is getting mugged!" rang through the air.

Eriol laughed and kept walking. I stopped and tried to look around to see who had said that but it was too dark. "What…what was that?"

"Tomoyo," he said simply.

"Um…okay. Weird," I muttered.

"She's probably trying to distract somebody. Probably Sakura," he added softly.

At the sound of her name I found myself smiling. "Okay, E. Say you're in my situation. What would you do?"

"You mean your situation where your girlfriend is in the hospital after a car accident and you're practically in love with some other girl?" he said dryly.

I gritted my teeth together. "Yes."

"Bang the other chick," he said, laughing.

"Tomoyo is so going to know you said that," my laughter began as his ended.

"No…seriously…I don't know, man. Good luck with that."

"Wow, Eriol. Wow. You have just put me right at the beginning of an endless circle. Idiot," I murmured, shoving him.

"That hurts, Syao. What if Sakura knew you were being such a meanie to me?" Eriol said, sighing.

"If she knows you as well as I do, she'd applaud me."

--

The next day at lunch I was looking for a place to sit when I saw Sakura sitting outside, eating an apple and playing around with her camera. I was going to just sit close to her, to just kinda smile at her and pretend that I didn't secretly want to sit right next to her and kiss her and have her all to myself.

"Go talk to her!" somebody said from behind me in a sing-song voice. I looked behind me and saw Tomoyo sitting at a table, leaning towards Eriol, not even looking at me. "Yes, you. Go!"

I sighed, knowing that if I didn't go willingly, I would end up next to Sakura by Tomoyo's force, even if I was twice her size. Tomoyo is scary that way.

I opened the doors that went outside and a cool breeze hit me. Sakura looked towards the doors, smiling and waving at me. I walked to the table where she was sitting. "Can I sit with you?"

"Of course!" she said, scooting over to make room for me on the bench.

"What are you up to?" I asked her, glancing at her camera.

"Looking for good pictures of them game," she sighed and set the camera down, "but I can't find any. I only took a couple yesterday. It was so cold."

I smiled at her. "Can I look through them?"

Her eyes widened for a second but then she relaxed. "Ah. Sure, if you really want to."

I picked up the camera and started flipping through the pictures. There were pictures of the game, the cheerleaders, and plenty of Tomoyo. I stopped at one picture of Sakura, her lips pouted, her eyebrows knitted together, her arms crossed; mad. I'd never seen her look like that before. She was still adorable, I thought to myself, smiling.

"What?" Sakura said softly, smiling at me.

I pushed the camera towards her. She blushed as soon as she saw the picture. "Oh. Ha ha. Tomoyo took a picture of me and I didn't want her to. I really should erase it," she said.

I put a hand over hers. "Don't erase it. It's cute, really. My mom always says that every picture, no matter how stupid you think it is, is precious."

Sakura smiled, a bit sadly. "Your mom sounds smart."

I laughed and ran a hand through my hair. "She is. Tough lady."

She laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. The bell rang and she stuffed her camera into her purse. "I'll see you later, Syaoran!" She started walking away, but then she tripped over something and fell on her face. "Oof!"

I ran over to her and tried to help her up, but she just laughed and said, "I'm…okay. T-that happens all the time!" She got up and bit her lip. "I f-feel like an idiot. So! Have a great day!" She trotted off, nearly falling again.

All I could do was laugh.

--

My phone rang and rand rang. I groaned. I had just had one of the hardest practices of the year and all I wanted to do was sleep. I got up reluctantly and answered my phone without even looking at who was calling. "Hello?"

"Syaoran? You sound horrible!" a voice chirped on the other line. Nina.

"Mmm," I replied. "Hi, Nina." I sighed; she was seriously the last person I wanted to talk to. I wish I hadn't answered the damn phone.

"Oh! Hi! Anyway…can…can you come to the hospital really quick? Please? Please? It'll only be, like, ten minutes! Please, Syaoran?" Nina begged.

I couldn't say no to her, could I? I mean, that would be really fucked up of me. Ugh. I kind of wished that the male nurse could've seduced her and made her forget all about me. "I'll be right there."

--

I knocked on the door to Nina's room.

"Syaoran?" came her voice from inside.

"Yep," I said, going into the room, plastering a smile on my face.

Nina's face kind of fell as our eyes met, but she recovered quickly and a smile appeared on her face. "Hi, Syao. Um…you can sit." Her hair had kind of grown and most of her bruises were gone. It had been a few weeks since Nina had gotten into the accident; I wondered vaguely when she was going to be allowed out of the hospital. Her eyes were distant, like she wasn't really focusing on what was happening.

I sat down and moved the chair closer to Nina's bed. She wouldn't look at me.

"I don't know where to start," she mumbled sadly. She finally looked at me; her eyes were brimming with tears. "We've grown apart," she said softly, so softly that I almost didn't hear her.

I wondered what my face looked like. I couldn't feel anything.

"It's not the same as it was before, Syao," she continued as a tear escaped. I focused on the tear, which was traveling down her cheek. "T-things happen for a reason." The tear disappeared behind her chin. "Go be happy, Syaoran. I…I can't make you happy anymore."

My mouth opened, but I had nothing to say.

She smiled sweetly. "I'm not blind, Syaoran. I love you, but I can't be selfish and force my love on you."

I shake my head and finally manage to say something. "W-what about…you?"

"You always think about everybody else. Jesus, Syaoran! Go be selfish! Don't worry about me! I'll be fine!" Nina said, her eyes flashing in irritation.

I got up and kissed her forehead. "Take care of yourself," I whisper.

She smiled and said, "You, too."

And just like that, I'm…what's the word? Single? Free? Released? I'm…able to go get Sakura without feeling guilty. I jumped into my car. Then I realized that I had absolutely no clue what I was going to do now.

--

**SAKURA**

I heard a frantic knock on my front door and Tomoyo yelling, "SAKU! KURA! SAKURA! SAKURA!"

I opened the door, not wanting Tomoyo to tear it down with a battering ram. She walked in, calm as you please, as if she hadn't just been going crazy on my porch step. She turned towards me and grabbed my hands, her eyes twinkling fiercely.

I smiled; she looked a bit crazed. "Um…hi?"

"Sakura Kinomoto," she said importantly. "Do you know what has just happened?"

I shook my head.

"Nina and Syaoran are over. Syaoran freaking Li is single, Saku."

A blush crept along my face as the words sank in. "S-so?"

Tomoyo's face fell but the twinkle stayed in her eyes. "_So_? He likes you, Saku. He wants you!"

"W-what?"

"Trust me, Sakura. I know these things. That boy wants you. Bad."

A smile crossed my face and suddenly I had to bite down on my lip to keep myself from screaming.

_Syaoran freaking Li!_

**Commentos:**

I have nothing to say except…hope you liked it!

**To My Beyond Reviewers:**

_StarAngel02:_ With the male nurse, Syaoran was just trying to get Nina's mind off of him. Thank you for the review!

_dilly-sammas luver:_ Oh my gosh, that really stinks! Life really is just full of curveballs.

Thank you to everybody else who made my day by reviewing! And if you ever have a question or an idea, feel free to submit it!

**:**D


	6. Strawberry Chocolate

**Six: Strawberry Chocolate**

**SAKURA**

I tried to stand up when all of a sudden I fell right back down onto my bed. My head felt like a wheel, spinning out of control.

"Whoa," I murmured out loud as the feeling came again, this time twice as bad, when I walked to the bathroom. I made it to the bathroom door and then I collapsed.

My dad leapt out of his room and I felt him check my pulse and my forehead. "Sakura, honey, are you okay?"

I attempted a smile. "I-I'm fine! You go back to sleep, Dad! I gotta get ready for school!"

He frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. "Sakura Kinomoto. Have you been overworking yourself?"

I closed my eyes and bit my lip.

"You're about to lie to me," he said, a smile in his voice. My eyes stayed closed; my head felt better that way. "You have a temperature. Go back to bed, please. Get some rest. You're not going to school today."

I bolted up, about to protest, but the spinning in my head started again at full force and all I could do was close my eyes and say, "Okay."

--

**SYAORAN**

I opened the doors of the school and was greeted by thousands of eyes. Why was everybody looking at me? I wondered as I walked down the hall, the girls smiling at me.

Oh. Right. I was available again. I frowned. I hoped I wouldn't be available for a long time. I thought of Sakura and a smile found its way to my face. A sophomore thought I was smiling at her and she shrieked.

I passed by Sakura's locker and frowned again; she wasn't there. Sakura and Tomoyo were usually gathered by her locker, Tomoyo talking wildly and Sakura smiling and laughing. Mm…I like her laugh.

I ran a hand through my hair and headed to my locker, telling myself that Sakura would be there later. I would get to see her later, I thought to myself with a smile.

"What are you smiling about, Li?"

I turned around to face my best friend Eriol. "Just thinking about you, Hiiragizawa," I said with a sarcastic smile.

"You're too sweet," he deadpanned. We stood and glared at each other until Tomoyo bounded up and hugged Eriol. She looked at the two of us and laughed.

"You two act like you hate each other," she said softly.

"That's just because Syaoran is in a bad mood today," Eriol said in a baby voice, sticking his bottom lip out.

Tomoyo lit up and smiled a bit evilly. "Saku's sick."

I felt the blood drain out of my face. "S-sick? How sick?"

Tomoyo laughed. "Not _that_ sick! She just said she feels all dizzy. This always happens."

I frowned yet again.

"She just overworks herself," Tomoyo said, shaking her head. Eriol twisted a lock of her long dark hair around his finger and she leaned towards him. "She doesn't know how to wind down. Maybe you can help her learn how to," she said, a glint in her eye.

Eriol laughed quietly. "Syaoran Li teach somebody how to loosen up? You are too funny, Tomoyo." She bumped him with her hip as I smacked him over the head with my notebook.

--

I sat with Eriol and Tomoyo at lunch. Another couple joined, Chiharu and Yamazaki, I think. The girl, Chiharu, stared at me as she sat down.

"It's rude to gawk, Chi," Yamazaki said as he waved his hand in front of her face.

"S-sorry, Li!" she said, blushing and looking down, her pigtails bobbing. I smiled as Yamazaki tugged her hair and kissed her cheek.

I let my mind wander, thinking about kissing Sakura and playing with her short brown hair and making her beautiful emerald green eyes shine with excitement. A smile was on my face as the little Syaoran in my head danced around with the little Sakura.

I felt so out of place, I realized as the two couples looked at me as I ate. I glanced up and swallowed my food. "What?" I asked sharply.

Tomoyo smiled. "Nothing."

I finished my food quickly and stood up, nodding a goodbye to the table of relationships. Tomoyo stopped me quickly and put a piece of folded paper in my hand.

I looked down at it and then at her.

She grinned and whispered, "Sakura's address."

--

**SAKURA**

I nibbled on the edge of my chocolate chip cookie, spreading crumbs all over my fleece blanket. I tried to get up to go get some milk but my head started spinning again and I was forced to lie back down.

I sighed. I hated getting sick; I felt so pathetic. My dad had gone to some meeting, and I didn't know whether I was sad that he wasn't checking on me every two minutes or if I liked that he wasn't here to see me barely able to walk.

The doorbell rang and I groaned. I got up dumbly, stumbling and tripping more than usual, finally making my way to the door and opening it, not even bothering to look to see who it was.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, I scolded myself as I looked as the person in front of me. Always look through the peephole.

"Hey, Sakura. Heard you were sick," Adam said as he started to come in. I blocked his entrance and he sighed, taking a few steps back. "So it's still like that?"

"It's always going to be like this," I said. I'd wanted the words to come out harsh and sharp, but they'd come out sounding like a third grader's. I grimaced as he took a step towards me. "Don't come near me," I said, starting to get dizzy. My head hurt. "I'm about to throw up," I said without thinking.

"Why? 'Cause I'm here?" Adam said, his eyes turning cold and hard.

I was trying to think of something to say back when Adam twisted around, his whole figure turning blurry, and then suddenly he was on the ground, all before I could blink. Then I blinked and looked in front of me. There was Syaoran with the scariest look on his face, his hand balled up into a fist.

"Hello, Syaoran," I said, the spinning of my head only getting worse. This was confusing. Why was Syaoran here? I didn't like violence, but why did I like seeing Syaoran punch Adam? Thinking only made the spinning worse.

Adam sprang up and pointed a death look at Syaoran. "Get out of here," Syaoran said sharply. "Before I fucking kill you."

Adam took one look at me, one look at Syaoran and then he stalked off and entered his car, slamming his door so hard I thought it would break off.

I blinked again. Everything started going a bit blurry.

"I-I'm sorry you had to see that, Sakura," Syaoran said. He looked so sad and so angry at the same time.

"It's--" I started but just then my headache won the battle and I dropped to my knees on the ground, staring at Syaoran's feet.

"Sa-Sakura?" Syaoran squeaked. I could see his hands fluttering around.

"Dizzy," I croaked. I felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around me and then a strong pair of legs carry me to my original place on the couch. "Thank you," I said to him, closing my eyes and smiling.

**SYAORAN**

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. That dick was here, talking to Sakura, who was leaning against the doorframe, looking like she might faint any second. He had some kind of fucking nerve trying to even _look_ at her again.

Before I really even knew what I was doing, I ran up to him and punched him, punched him as hard as I could possibly manage, which was pretty hard seeing as how much I hated his fucking guts. He hit the ground and Sakura's eyes widened. She blinked and looked at me, her eyes unreadable.

He got up and glared at me, like he was about to say something.

"Get out of here," I said coldly. "Before I fucking kill you."

I watched Sakura as she watched him. Her eyes were wide, not with fear, but with surprise. She had slipped farther down the doorway, and her face was pale. Tomoyo said this happens a lot. I frowned. She turned her head towards me.

"I-I'm sorry you had to see that, Sakura," I said, hoping my voice wasn't cold to her.

"It's--" she slipped down to her knees, her shoulders drooping.

"Sa-Sakura?" I said, the word coming out as a squeak. I groaned to myself as I realized how dumb I'd sounded.

"Dizzy," she said hoarsely. She sounded so tired, I realized sadly. I didn't know how to pick her up but then I finally decided to pick her up bridal style and carry her to the largest couch in her living room, taking the opportunity to smell her hair. Strawberries, I noted with a smile. I set her down gently. "Thank you," she whispered, closing her eyes and smiling. I had really missed that smile.

"No problem. You okay?" I asked, brushing some of her damp bangs off of her forehead, hoping she wouldn't mind. Her smile deepened.

"Yep. I'm a tough cookie," she answered. She opened her eyes and lifted her head up, looking around. "Speaking of that, I was eating a cookie. Do you see it anywhere?"

I laughed, the way I laughed only around her. She looked at me with her green eyes opened wide, an innocent look on her face. I suddenly realized that she was serious. "No, Sakura, I haven't seen it."

"I like the way you say my name," she said suddenly. She gasped and blushed, pulling the blanket over her face.

I smiled. She was just too cute. "How do you feel, Sakura?"

She ran her hands through her hair, her face still covered by the blanket. "My head isn't as…um…empty feeling. So…g-good."

"Good enough to go somewhere with me?"

Her green eyes peeked out at me from underneath their hiding spot. "Where?"

"Ice cream?" I suggested.

She threw the blanket off of herself and jumped to her feet. "I love ice cream!" She blushed and slowly sat down. "I mean…that would be nice. I like strawberry ice cream. How about you?"

"Chocolate," was my immediate response.

She smiled and stood up again. "Okay! I'll go get changed really quick and then we can go get some ice cream." She disappeared upstairs and I stood up slowly, my gaze lingering on the stairs.

I walked around the living room, stopping at a tall, long table lined with several picture frames. There was a silver frame holding a picture of a green-eyed grader school girl, one of her teeth adorably gone. Then there was one holding a picture of a baby with bushy black hair, next to a picture of a dark-haired boy holding a little baby girl. So Sakura had a brother. I bent down to get a closer look at one of a family. A tall, kind-looking father with glasses, a boy smirking at the camera, a little emerald-eyed toddler holding her mother's hand, a beautiful woman with extremely long hair.

"I'm ready! Oh—you found the pictures!" Sakura said, stumbling down the stairs and making her way over to me.

"I'm sorry, I was being nosy," I started quickly, but she shut me up with a wave of her hand.

"Pictures are taken to be seen, Syaoran!" Sakura said happily. "That's my brother, Touya. He's at university. And my dad, Fujitaka, but of course I just call him Dad," she laughed. "Duh! And that…that's my mom. She was beautiful," she gently touched the picture of the family, smiling sadly.

She _was_ beautiful. Oh. Sakura looked up at me, her smile still sad.

"Come on, I'll buy you a big strawberry waffle cone," I said, opening the door for her.

"W-what? No, Syaoran! You don't have to buy it for me! I'll…I'll feel bad!"

I shook my head as we walked out. "Don't feel bad. I…I want to buy your ice cream, Sakura," I replied, adding her name in at the end just for fun.

**SAKURA**

The way he smirked as he said my name! He was teasing me! I realized as we started walking to his car. Ah. I'd been such an idiot. _I like the way you say my name_. Smooth, Kinomoto. Smooth as gravel.

"Can we walk, Syaoran?" I said, saying his name just for fun. "There's this amazing place just down the street."

He looked at me and his eyes seemed to soften. "Sure."

We started walking down the street and I noticed that we were walking really close. I found my hand inching closer to his, burning to feel the warmth of his hand around mine. I folded my arms across my chest. Syaoran looked down at me and grinned.

"You okay?" he asked.

I nodded vigorously. "Oh. Yeah. It's just…cold," I lied. It was actually really hot out.

I wondered if he felt that weird energy that seemed to be generating around and in between us. I shook my head. No, Sakura. Stop being conceited. It's just ice cream. It's just ice cream.

I peeked up at him, trying not to openly stare at him, but it was really, really hard. He was just so…striking. His jaw was so strong, his lips perfectly formed, his tawny amber eyes burning brightly. His eyes shifted and met mine.

I felt the heat rise up to my cheeks and I opened my mouth stupidly, trying to think of something to say. "So…um…chocolate, huh?" Wow. I could've smacked myself.

But, luckily, he just grinned. "Yeah. I'm kind of a big chocolate freak."

"Really? I'm like that, too! Just with me, it's anything sweet. My dad always has to hide the desserts from me because I'll try to eat them before dinner," I laughed sheepishly.

We walked into the ice cream and the owner, an old, short man with messy grey hair, greeted us warmly and said, "What'll it be, kids?"

"Strawberry waffle cone, please!" I said, plopping down on one of the bar stools.

Syaoran sat down next to me and said, "Double chocolate cone."

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Double? Whoa." I laughed stupidly.

He grinned but said nothing.

I thought it would be awkward, like how it usually was when I was around any other guy, but it wasn't. Not at all. Me and Syaoran talked and ate like we'd known each other our whole lives. We talked about everything. Our favorite movies, our least favorite foods, our families, just…_everything_. He nearly knew as much about me as Tomoyo did.

I hadn't realized it was getting dark until he pointed it out.

"It's getting pretty late," he said, glancing outside.

"Oh, yeah. It is." I tried not to let the sadness show in my voice. I really, really liked spending time with him. I didn't want to go home. I peeked up at him from underneath my bangs but quickly looked down again when I saw that he was looking at me.

**SYAORAN**

Stupid nighttime. Why did it have to come so fast? I looked at Sakura and saw she was staring up at me, not in a flirtatious way like most girls, but in a shy, adorable way.

"Ready to go?" I asked, hopping off the bar stool. I couldn't believe that we'd talked for…hours. Whoa.

"Sure," she said, a bit sadly, I thought.

Walking next to her, it was hard to resist the pull that my hand was feeling towards hers. I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my jeans. We were quiet as we arrived in front of her house. She lingered on her bottom porch step, biting her bottom lip.

"Do you want to hang out Saturday?" I blurted out.

She looked kind of shocked but it went away quickly as she said, "Sure!"

"Okay. Saturday morning. I'll be here," I said, deciding where to take her, a place I thought she would like.

"S-Saturday morning?" she blushed.

I nodded but then added, "Unless you're busy or something."

She shook her head. "N-no, not busy. Just wondering what's going on in the morning."

I winked and said, "You'll see. Good night, Sakura."

**SAKURA**

Kami-sama, did Syaoran Li just wink at me? I tried not to faint as I said, "G-good night," and watched him walk away.

Just when Syaoran had become a mere speck in my vision, the porch light went on and my dad stepped out of the house.

"Sakura," he started sternly. "Where have you been? You're sick! And you just run off somewhere!" I was about to explain to him what happened but then he asked, "And who was that boy?" I felt my face turn hot and I knew that I must have been apple red. My dad smiled. "Ah. I see. Well, he looked nice."

I glanced back at the direction that Syaoran had walked away in and smiled. "Yes. He really is."

--

**Did you like it? Hate it? I hope it's the former!**

**I don't deserve your kindess!  
**

_lhaine07: _Ah your review made me smile!

_winterkaguya: _Yep! Nina really does understand what love is all about; she's a good girl. But I don't think many people liked her character! Thank you for reviewing!

_PrincessNevermore: _Awww yay! A dedicated reader! Thank you! That makes me so happy!

_dilly-sammas luver: _No Syaoran didn't see the picture of himself. Sakura uploaded it to her computer and erased it from her memory card. She's smart when she wants to be! I really like your reviews!

**Thank you to everybody who took time to review!**

**(:**


	7. Ferris Wheel

**Seven: Ferris Wheel**

**SYAORAN**

Eriol flopped down onto my couch and raised an eyebrow, smirking at me.

"What?" I snapped, spinning around to look at him.

"You excited?" he asked in an annoying sing-song tone.

I turned around so that I was facing the wall, not wanting Eriol to see the flush on my cheeks. "Shut up! And leave, go home! I'm leaving in a little bit anyways!"

I heard him get up from the couch and sigh. "You're so mean. But I'll leave. See you later." I heard the front door open and close.

I turned around to face the door and jumped back when I saw Eriol standing by the door, smirking. "Have fun with Sakura."

"LEAVE!"

--

**SAKURA**

Tomoyo twirled around me, pulling on my pajamas. "What shall my pretty, pretty Sakura wear on her date with Syaoran Li?" she sang, giggling.

My cheeks exploded with heat. "I-it's not a date! We're just hanging out!" I squeaked.

"Whatever you say, dear," she replied, dragging her words. "Okay, so I picked out the perfect outfit for you! It's not too fancy, so I think you'll really like it!" She said, holding up a bag with hearts all over it.

"Um…okay. Let me see it," I said, sitting down on the bed.

Tomoyo smiled and pulled a pair of light pink denim shorts and a lacy white tank top. "And in case it gets cold," she started, rummaging through the bag and drawing out a thin grey jacket. "So! Do you like it?"

"I love it! It's simple," I said, smiling at her.

"Yay! Then go put it on! I'm gonna go; me and Eriol have an actual date," she said, winking and hugging me. "Have fun, honey!"

I blushed lightly and said, "Thanks."

"On your date!" she added as she bound down the stairs.

"It's not a date!" I said loudly.

My dad grinned at me from the bottom of the staircase. "Excited?"

"We're just hanging out!" I said hopelessly, as my dad was still grinning at me like the Mad Hatter. I blew my bangs out of my face and turned to go into my room, accidentally slamming against the door.

"Sakura?" my dad asked worriedly.

"I-I'm okay!" I said woozily, succeeding in getting into the room safely.

"She's so funny when she's nervous," I heard my dad say, chuckling.

--

"You look really pretty," Syaoran said, smiling at me.

"T-thanks," I replied shyly, playing with the lace along the hem of the tank top. I blushed and sputtered out, "Y-you look g-good, too!"

He chuckled and looked at me for a second before focusing on the road again.

"So…where are we going?" I asked quietly.

"It's a surprise," he said.

I found myself staring at him, thinking about how good he looked in profile. His messy hair was a bit tamer today, but still wild nonetheless. I smiled and his eyes caught mine.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked. I blushed and quickly looked out the window. "Oh! L-look! A…a…um…a tree. Um…wow." I said stupidly, wanting to smack myself. I got so dumb around Syaoran. "Yep. A cherry blossom tree. I can't wait until spring." I turned around to look at Syaoran again. "That's when all the sakura blossoms start blooming!"

--

**SYAORAN**

I laughed and it took all my strength to not stare at her while she talked about the cherry blossoms. Those eyes, those gorgeous green eyes. I shook my head and concentrated on driving; I didn't want to crash into a tree and leave us stranded.

"We're here," I said, parking the car.

"We are?" Sakura said brightly, looking out of the window. "Ah! It's a carnival!"

I got out of the car and quickly opened the door for Sakura. She blushed and murmured a soft thanks, smiling.

"Do you like carnivals?" I asked conversationally as we walked to the entrance.

"Yes! Me and my big brother always used to go to carnivals. And at the end of every night, we would go into the Ferris wheel. We always got stuck at the top!" She laughed at her memories, and I looked at the Ferris wheel towering over the carnival.

I paid for both of our tickets, ignoring Sakura's protests.

"But Syaoran, I feel so bad!" she said, looking at me with an adorable sad face.

I chuckled. "Why?"

"You paid for my ice cream that one day, and now this!" she said, pouting. Then her face lit up and she exclaimed, "I'm buying you some cotton candy!"

"What?" I asked, but she had dashed away to the cotton candy stand. I caught up with her and smiled at her cuteness.

"Okay! Do you want pink, white, or blue?" she asked me excitedly.

"White," I said automatically.

"Okay!" she said again, turning towards the man standing at the stand. "One white and one pink, please."

"Here you go, cutie," the man said.

Sakura smiled slightly and turned to me, handing me the white cotton candy. "Syaoran? What's wrong?"

I glared at the man, who was staring at Sakura, for a second before shaking my head and saying, "Nothing, nothing."

--

By the end of the night, Sakura was shivering but smiling, of course. "A-are you bored, Syaoran? We can leave if you are."

I shook my head. "No, no. Come on, there's one more ride we have to go on," I said, holding out my hand. She shyly put her hand in mine and blushed. "What?" I asked quietly, leading her away from the spot where she was standing.

"Y-your hand is warm," she said, bursting out in giggles. "Sorry, sorry! That was weird! So! Where are we going?"

"You'll see," I said. I could feel her fingers fidgeting; she wanted to know so badly. I just laughed and pointed up at the sky and the bright, blinding lights coming from a certain ride.

"The Ferris wheel!" she squealed. She ran the rest of the way to the ride, dragging me along behind her.

When we stopped at the top, she weaved her fingers through the gates keeping us from falling to the ground and smiled sadly. "Everything is so pretty, Syaoran. And so little," she said, laughing softly.

I got off the bench and stood next to her. "Yeah," I said quietly.

As we watched the people, the tiny, tiny people, Sakura's hand brushed mine. "Sorry!" she mumbled, but she didn't move her hand. Our pinky fingers laced together and she smiled, looking at me. I looked at her.

The people continued moving beneath us.

The birds kept flying above us.

That was the day I kissed Sakura Kinomoto.

--

**SAKURA**

"B-boy? Well, there is o-one!" I waited for a second while he responded. "No! Oh my gosh, you don't have to worry so much!" I blushed as he responded again. "That's none of your business!"

Touya yelled into the phone from his side of it and I could almost see his face turning red. "None of my business if you kissed this _boy_?" he said bitterly, spitting out the word 'boy' like it was toxic. "It sure as hell is my business!"

I laughed. Somebody had turned on Over-Protective-Brother-Mode. "Touya. Don't worry. He's nice, I swear."

"Whatever. Make sure I get to meet him," Touya said, his voice a bit quieter.

"W-what?" I choked out.

"I'm coming to visit this weekend," he said, obviousness dripping from his words.

"Oh my gosh! Yay! But, hey, I gotta go, Syaoran is here!" I said without thinking, and then I realized my mistake. Touya hated boys I dated even _more _when he knew their names.

"Syoaran? What kind of name is that?" he muttered.

"I love you! See you soon, bye!" I said, putting down the phone and grabbing my jacket.

--

**SYAORAN**

The phone rang just as I was about to close the door. I groaned and went back into my apartment and picked up the phone, answering it with a quick "Hello?"

"Geez, Syaoran-kun, so mean!" a familiar voice chimed on the other end of the line.

"Meiling?" I blurted out.

"The one and only!" she said, laughing.

"What do you want?" I asked rudely, but while smiling, which she would knew by my voice.

"I want you to prepare that futon for yourself because I'm coming to visit! Make sure none of your nasty Syaoran germs are on the bed. Everything must be pristine for me!" Meiling, my annoying, over-dramatic, over-the-top cousin, said. I could just picture her in an airplane, interrupting people's sleep with this call.

I laughed and said, "Okay, okay. But I have to go now. I don't want to keep Sakura waiting." As soon as her name scrambled out of my mouth, I hit myself on the head with my palm. Meiling was so nosy; she would physically hurt me if I didn't tell her about Sakura.

"Sakura?" Meiling squealed. "Who's Sakura? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"She's my girlfriend," I said, smiling at the thought.

"Are you blushing?" she squealed even louder.

I started to flush and quickly said, "Meiling, I'll tell you about her later, I promise."

"Wait! Promise me I'll get to meet her!" she demanded.

"Okay, okay, I promise! Good-bye, Meiling!"

"Bye, Syaoran-kun! I'll see you soon!" she said, hanging up.

I quickly put down the phone and dashed out of the door, hoping Sakura hadn't been waiting for too long.

--

Sakura plopped into my car, looked at me, and promptly started laughing.

"Is there something on my face?" I asked, smiling despite the weirdness of the situation. "A-are you okay?"

She kissed me on the cheek and said, "No and yes. It's just…my…my brother wants to meet you."

I laughed and it was her turn to ask me if I was okay. "My cousin wants to meet you."

We both laughed and looked at each other. "My brother is coming this weekend."

"I think my cousin is coming tomorrow."

"I can't wait to meet…" she trailed off, waiting for me to reveal Meiling's gender.

"Her," I said. "Meiling."

"Oh, that's a pretty name. Well, I can't wait to meet her!"

"Really?"

"Of course! I bet anyone related to you is amazing. I'm excited!" she said, her eyes shining.

I kissed her on the lips then started the car. "Me too," I said softly. She blushed and smiled.

--

I checked my watch again and shifted in the uncomfortable plastic seat for the millionth time. Damn airplane seats were so uncomfortable.

"Syaoran-kunnn!" a cheerful voice said from behind me.

I turned around and all of a sudden a blur of long black hair, bright red hair clips and flashy clothes was bounding towards me and enveloping me in a big bear hug.

"Hi, hi, hi, Syaoran-kun! I have so much to tell you! Auntie Yelan has missed you so much; you're all she can talk about!" Meiling chirped, her arm around my waist as we went to get her bags. "And your sisters! Oh my gosh, they're going crazy with matchmaking!" She laughed and looked at me. "So! How are you?"

I smiled. "Good," I said simply.

She nodded. "When do I get to meet Sakura-san?"

"Today, if you want. She's really excited about meeting you."

"Well, why wouldn't she be?" she laughed and then added, "I'm kidding, though! I really wanna meet one of your girlfriends! What's she like?"

"Really sweet. And clumsy," I laughed as I thought about it. "And she does this thing, where she gets really excited and she starts rambling; it's so adorable."

"Aww!" Meiling cried, hugging me again. "I've never heard you talk about _anybody_ like that! Now I really, really can't wait to meet her!"

--

**SAKURA**

I knocked on the door to Syaoran's apartment and fixed the hem of my ruffled pink shirt, kind of nervous about meeting his cousin. I hoped that she would like me.

Syaoran opened the door and I was struck again by his pure, pure handsomeness. His eyes were so warm, like honey melting on warm toast. He kissed me quickly and put his arm around my waist, leading me inside.

"Is Sakura-san here?" a feminine voice floated through the house, stemming from Syaoran's bedroom.

"Yeah, she's here," Syaoran said back.

I didn't even see her come out of Syaoran's room, but in a flash, a beautiful girl with long, straight black hair flowing down her back and eyes with a crimson tint to them was standing in front of me, smiling with pretty light red lips. "Hello, Sakura-san! I'm Meiling Li!"

I smiled and extended a hand for her to shake. "I-I'm, Sakura Kinomoto, obviously," I said, laughing nervously. "Nice to meet you, Meiling-san."

"Call me Meiling-chan!" she chirped happily.

"Then y-you can call me Sakura-chan."

"You're so cute!"

I blushed furiously and shook my head.

Meiling-chan smiled warmly at me and took my hand, pulling me away from Syaoran. "Okay! Do you know how to bake?"

"Um…I can make pancakes. And I made cookies once, but they didn't come out too well," I laughed at the memory. Touya had literally used one of my cookies as a hockey puck.

"Well, what do you say to making a big chocolate cake for that big lug over there?" Meiling-chan said, nodding her head in Syaoran's direction, who was watching us and smiling.

I smiled and said, "Let's do it!"

Syaoran laughed and sat down in the kitchen. "I'll just watch."

Meiling-chan flicked some flour at him and turned back to me again. "Or maybe we'll just make a cake and not let him have any."

"Not fair!" Syaoran said, pouting like a little boy.

As Syaoran and Meiling-chan argued playfully, I realized that my brother was coming tomorrow. And he wanted to meet Syaoran.

I bit my lip.

Oh boy…

--

**I'm so sorry for the super long wait! If I can, I'll spit out the next chapter within a week! I always feel so bad because you guys are so, so loyal! I'm grateful to all of you!**

**You all are amazing!**


	8. Kimiko and Chiyo

**Eight: Kimiko and Chiyo**

A couple of Nina's friends crowded around her bed in her small hospital room, gossiping to her. Nina smiled up at them but her expression changed as they started talking about Syaoran.

"You know what, Nina?" a brunette with pretty blue eyes, Kimiko, said. "Li-kun is going out with Kinomoto-san!" Her expression was one of disgust, like Sakura was a boil that had appeared on Syaoran's face.

Another girl, a blonde, Chiyo, nodded her head. "It's crazy! She probably seduced him; she probably doesn't even care that you're here in the hospital, suffering!"

Nina cocked her head and laughed. "Chiyo-chan, I'm not even suffering. They said I'm going to be out of the hospital in a week or so. Are you talking about Kinomoto Sakura-san?"

The two girls nodded.

"She's not like that, guys. She's a good girl." Nina smiled and waved her hand, dismissing their crazy ideas.

Kimiko's eyes blazed and she threw her hands up in the air. "No, she's not! It's all an act! She's just really, really good at playing the innocent little girl!"

Chiyo nodded again. "Why did you break up with Li-kun, anyway?"

Nina smiled sadly. "He was distant. It…it was just too painful to be with him and know that he didn't love me the way I loved him," she said, sighing and looking away. "You guys should go. It's getting late."

The two girls said good bye to their friend and walked down the hospital hallway, both deep in thought.

"Kinomoto isn't as innocent as she seems," Kimiko said suddenly, as if she was reading the words off a script and she had just remembered her line.

Chiyo nodded yet again and said, "No way. She just wants Li-kun for…for something."

"Maybe she doesn't even want him. Maybe she just doesn't want Nina to have him!" the brunette said loudly, looking at Chiyo. "You know what?" she said in a much quieter voice.

"What?" Chiyo whispered.

"Let's make sure Kinomoto slut-san can't have him either."

--

**SAKURA**

There was a quiet knock at the door and I stared at the dark wood of it nervously. I looked at Touya and he cocked an eyebrow, his expression reading _I just cannot wait to kill this Syaoran punk. _I took a deep breath, got up, and answered the door.

"Hey," Syaoran said in his soothing voice. I smiled and started to get on my tiptoes to give him a kiss when my _darling_ brother cleared his throat.

I glanced over at Touya and gulped; from the angle he was sitting at, he couldn't see Syaoran yet, and part of me wanted to shove Syaoran out the door and run away from Touya with him. Maybe to Alaska or something.

"Sakura," Touya said, a warning in his voice.

I took another deep breath and, grabbing his hand, I led Syaoran into the house. "Touya, this is my boyfriend, Syaoran Li. Syaoran, this is my older brother, Touya." I smiled widely, but the tension between the three of us was so thick I could've used it as a blanket.

"Hello," Syaoran started politely, holding out his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Touya shook Syaoran's hand gruffly and looked him up and down silently. "Sit," he finally said when he let go of Syaoran's hand.

I was about to sit next to Syaoran on the long couch but Touya gently gripped my wrist and pushed me down to sit next to him. "Yes, Touya, I would love to sit next to you," I said sweetly, a layer of sarcasm coating my words.

"I'm sure you would, kaijuu," Touya said, glancing at me for a second before turning his head to glare at Syaoran.

"I'm not a monster," I mumbled, blushing. Syaoran smiled at me and I smiled back. Touya frowned.

"So. Do you think Sakura's 'hot?'" Touya said, his gaze on Syaoran never wavering.

"Touya!" I punched my brother on the arm and quickly looked at Syaoran. "You don't have to answer that! I'm so sorry! Oh! Syaoran! W-would you like some-something to drink? We have soda and lemonade and o-orange juice and, and--"

Syaoran looked like he wanted to chuckle but was scared to. "I'll have some water, please."

I quickly bolted out of my seat and rushed over to kitchen, blushing furiously. Touya was so embarrassing! I breathed in and out and few times and grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and a glass for Syaoran.

"How long have you been with my sister?" I heard Touya ask Syaoran quietly but roughly.

"A few weeks," Syaoran answered coolly. I smiled; I'd never seen Syaoran get nervous or anything. It was weird because Touya had made some of my other boyfriends cry.

I walked out of the kitchen hurriedly and, of course, I tripped over the edge of the rug and let go of the glass and water bottle, ready for impact with my carpet. But it never came. I opened my formerly shut-as-tight-as-humanly-possible eyes and looked at the person who was holding me.

--

**SYAORAN**

"Ah!" was the only thing Sakura muttered as she tripped over something and let go of everything she had been holding. I jumped off the couch and scrambled to grab Sakura, just barely catching her by the waist and stopping her from face-diving into the carpet.

Sakura's eyes burst open and she looked at me, staring to laugh. "Thanks, Syaoran. You always save me."

"Don't mention it," I said, kissing the top of her head. She smiled sweetly and then tensed up.

I wondered what had made her nervous when suddenly I remembered her brother, who was, truthfully, scaring the shit out of me. If looks could kill, I would've dropped dead as soon as his eyes laid on me.

"Sakura, are you okay?" he asked, his eyes softening when they landed on her. He was so protective of her; it was sort of sweet, in a scary way.

Sakura nodded and smiled bravely, like she always did when she fell or anything. "Yep! Oh my gosh! Did that glass break?" She wriggled out of my arms and visibly relaxed when she saw that the glass was by the door, in tact. "Okay! Good! Okay, guys, I'll be right back," she said, looking from me to her brother worriedly.

"I'm not gonna kill him, Sakura," he said jokingly, grinning at her.

She sighed and smiled, bounding up the stairs. I took my seat on the couch again and ran my hand through my hair.

"She falls a lot," her brother said, also back in his seat, his gaze lingering on the stairs.

I chuckled and said, "Yeah, she does."

"Don't let her get hurt," he murmured. "She's been hurt so much," he added softly, so softly I barely heard him. I didn't think he was talking about her falling anymore. "He…I thought she would never smile after him."

Him? Who was that? Was he talking about Adam?

Her brother looked at me and, noticing the confused look on my face, said, "So you don't know. That's okay; she'll tell you."

Tell me? Tell me what? I was about to ask him what he was talking but Sakura came down the stairs and her brother's attention was focused back on her.

"Hey, kaijuu, I gotta go. I promised some friends I would visit them, too. But I'll be back later tonight, okay?" he said, smiling lovingly at her.

She smiled brightly and said, "Okay!"

"And Syaoran has to leave," he said bluntly.

"What?" Sakura said, paling.

I blinked, baffled. Did he mean forever? Her brother was really confusing.

"I can't leave you at home alone with a boy, kaijuu!" he said, grinning again.

Sakura blushed like crazy, opening and closing her mouth a few times before squealing, "Touyaaa, you're so _embarrassing_!"

"I know," he said, kissing her on the cheek. "Come on, Li, let me be nice and walk you to your car," he added, throwing me a lovely glare.

"Oh. Th-thanks," I said, getting up and kissing Sakura on the lips.

"Bye, Syaoran! Bye, Touya! Drive safe, both of you!" Sakura waved good bye to us from her porch.

Before I got in my car, Sakura's brother passed by me and whispered, "Please don't let her get hurt."

I looked at her again, sitting on the porch, twirling her hair around her finger, smiling like the word 'hurt' wasn't even in her vocabulary. I smiled at her and muttered, "Never."

--

**SAKURA**

I closed my locker and twisted my lock around, making sure it was locked. I turned around and squeaked when I saw two girls, a blonde and a brunette, staring at me. It was after school, and I'd stayed after for a club, and I'd thought I was the only one left in the building.

"Hello, Kinomoto-san!" the blonde said, her bright blue eyes wide. "You're in yearbook, right?"

I nodded dumbly.

"We'd like to join! Could you show us where the yearbook room is?" the brunette said. They walked closer to me and, for some reason, I backed up against my locker, like there was a force making me recede away from them.

"W-well, no one's there now," I said, my voice fuzzy-sounding.

"Oh," the brunette said.

"S-so?" the blonde blurted out. The brunette looked at her strangely. "Show us where it is so that we can know where it is tomorrow!"

"Y-yeah!" the brunette agreed, nodding.

"Okay," I said, swallowing. I took a step forward and started to walk towards the yearbook room, the two following closely behind me.

"I'm Sato Kimiko, by the way!" the blonde said.

"Tanaka Chiyo," the brunette added shyly.

"And we already know who you are, Kinomoto-san! You're very popular among the students, male and female!" Sato-san chirped.

I stopped at the yearbook room and said, "Well, th-this is it. I'm sorry I can't show you much more."

"Oh, b-but could you?" Sato-san said, looking at me with her wide blue eyes.

"Yes! P-please, Kinomoto-san?" Tanaka-san added.

"Um…I guess I could show you inside," I said, hesitantly unlocking the door and leading them inside. "It's…nothing special."

Sato-san turned to me and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, gruffly pushing me down onto one of the chairs. "You're nothing special."

--

**Yes, this is where I'm leaving you guys! Sorry if you thought that the whole Nina thing was done with…well it is, but not Nina's friends! Yay for crazy friends. Ha ha! The next update will be coming soon; promise!**

**Thank you for reading! And reviewing! All you are so loyal; it makes me emotional. Ha ha. Honestly, though, thanks. :]**


	9. Cry, Scream

**Nine: Cry, Scream**

**SAKURA**

"W-what?" I blurted out stupidly as my bottom collided with the hard plastic chair.

Sato-san rolled her eyes. "You heard me, Kinomoto," she spit out, my surname sounding like it was acid that was burning her tongue. "Who the fuck do you think you are, going after Li-kun like that?"

Syaoran popped into my head and something clicked in my brain. "You're Nina's friends," I stated.

"Yes, yes we are. And we're doing what she's too nice to do," Sato-san said, standing directly in front of me. "Exposing you for the conniving little _slut_ that you are."

I felt the blood run out of my face at the word 'slut,' but I didn't respond.

Sato-san furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why are you dating Li-kun?"

I looked away, deciding that I didn't have to answer her.

She roughly grabbed my chin and turned my face so that I was looking straight at her. "You want to fucking ruin Li-kun, don't you?" I pulled back, out of her grip, but she just moved her face closer to mine. "Everyone you come in contact with is miserable, _Sakura-chan_." She said my name so mockingly it made me cringe. "What happened to Takeshi?"

At the sound of his name, something tugged in my chest, some near-forgotten painful heartstring, and my vision went blurry as a thick veil of tears covered my eyes. "Y-you--" I started, my voice marmalade thick.

"I_ what_?" she said harshly, her eyes blazing.

"You…don't know _anything _about that!" I said, my voice now raw with emotion.

Sato-san laughed a humorless laugh, finally backing away from me. "He's dead! _Dead_! And why, why Kinomoto? _Because of you_!"

"_That's not true!_" I shouted, covering my ears, closing my eyes, willing everything to disappear, willing this to just be a dream, a horrible, chilling nightmare.

"It is true! Why did you let him get in that car, Kinomoto-san?" Now she was right next to me, speaking into my ear. "And what about your mother?" she suddenly said.

My eyes popped open and I stared at her, dumbfounded. "Wh-what?"

"Why didn't you try harder?" she taunted. "Why? Don't you love your own mother? Or were you too busy fucking Takeshi, too busy killing him? Was your mother not important enough? _Did you decide that she wasn't worth fighting for_?"

My throat burned and fresh tears flowed out of my eyes. None of it was true, oh God, none of it was even close to true. I just wanted to get out. I just wanted it to stop; I wanted her to stop. "N-no," I managed to choke out. "She had an illness!" The words were mangled by sobs. "Th-they said there was nothing we could do!"

"You should've tried harder," she whispered icily into my ear.

I bolted up from my chair, having told myself those words so, so many times. I just couldn't take this anymore.

--

**SYAORAN**

My phone rang and I hesitated answering it, seeing as it was from an unknown number. But I flipped it open and quickly said, "Hello?"

"Li-kun, oh my God, please come to the school!" said a high-pitched voice from the other line. I was about to hang up, thinking it was just some annoying girl who wanted to confess 'undying love' for me. "I-it's about Kinomoto-san!"

I bolted up and grabbed my keys, running past a confused Meiling and sprinting down to my car, quickly getting in. "What's going on?" I asked the girl on the other end of the phone. I heard some muffled yelling in the background, and suddenly I imagined Sakura in a fight with somebody. I stepped on the gas pedal.

She gasped and then said, "Just, please! _Please_!"

--

**SAKURA**

"_Sakura_!"

I never thought in my whole life that I'd be so happy to hear my name called by that voice. I quickly stood up from my sitting position on the floor and I turned my attention down the hall, where Syaoran was standing. He spotted me and ran to me. When he reached the place I was standing, his amber eyes turned cold.

"What the fuck happened?" he said harshly and the tears started again, then I realized that he wasn't talking to me; he was directing the question to Tanaka-san, standing outside of the yearbook room, gripping a cell phone, her eyes wide and sad. She shook her head wildly and then Sato-san stepped out of the room.

Her face was smug at first but then expression turned to one of _oh shit _when she saw Syaoran standing there giving her the coldest look I'd ever seen. I flinched when she looked at me and then I looked away, pushing myself against Syaoran.

"P-please, let's just go," I murmured. Syaoran put his arm around my waist and half-walked, half-dragged me to his car, where I climbed into the passenger seat and put my face in my hands.

I was distantly aware of Syaoran starting the car, distantly aware of the tears still relentlessly streaming down my face, distantly aware of the feel of cool fingers on my forehead until everything just fell away.

--

**SYAORAN**

"What happened?" Meiling asked worriedly as I carried a sleeping, sobbing Sakura into the apartment. I set her on the couch and looked at Meiling.

"I don't know. Some girl called me and told me to go to the school, that it was something about Sakura. I showed up there and Sakura was crying and then there's this little _bitch_ and I'm not even sure but all I know is that I just want to fucking_ kill _somebody, Meiling," I explained quickly, sitting down on the couch, placing Sakura's head on my lap. I ran my hands through my hair and looked at Meiling again. "She never even _frowns _and this bitch makes her _cry_."

Meiling sat down the loveseat across from the couch and ran a hand through her hair. "She's waking up. I'll leave you two alone," she said softly, getting up and ducking into my room.

I looked down and I was met by the stunning green of Sakura's eyes. She quickly sat up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered, her back to me.

I didn't know what to say. What was she sorry about? Crying? Falling asleep? I blinked a few times and she turned to me, her expression so sad. "Will you go somewhere with me?"

--

**SAKURA**

Syaoran's eyes widened as I pointed to the graveyard. He took the last turn and parked, running a hand through his already messy hair and getting out of the car, then opening my door.

I took his hand gently and led him down a path that I knew well. A breeze picked up and rose petals were scattered from a nearby grave, dancing around the stone path that went through the cemetery.

I stopped at one and bent down, running my fingers over the dips in the stone, a name that hurt and healed at the same time. _Utagawa Takeshi_. Syaoran bent down next to me and followed my fingers.

"We were together," I started softly, "for a little over a year. We…got into a fight. It was raining outside." I cleared my throat. Syaoran looked at me but I focused on the carvings on the grave, the words and dates I had memorized. "Somebody hit him," I finished unceremoniously.

There was so much more that I wanted to tell him, so much more that I wanted to tell somebody, anybody. Like how even though I'd been mad at him, he'd smiled at me when he'd left. Or how the last words I'd said to him were "good bye," so simple and stupid. But I didn't know if I was hurting him, talking about a past boyfriend like this.

"That first Thursday you came to my house, remember? Scary movies?" I said, giving him a small smile. "That was…the anniversary of one year of his death."

--

**SYAORAN**

I gasped at her last statement. That day, she hadn't seemed sad _at all_. Fuck, I wish I'd seen it. Fuck, I wish I could help her. Fuck, I wish I knew what those girls had said to her.

She stood up and held out a hand for me to take. I took it and stood up, squeezing it gently.

I heard her sigh and she looked at me for second before closing her eyes and letting the breeze hit her face. "I…blamed myself for his death for a long time. I kept thinking 'What if we hadn't gotten into that fight?' 'What if I hadn't let him leave?' I…realized that there was nothing I could've changed, though, nothing I could've really done."

She took a turn on the path and she paused in front of another grave, her eyes tearing up. I glanced at the name and found myself mesmerized by it. _Kinomoto Nadeshiko. _I found myself looking even closer at the date on the stone.

My eyes widened as I realized that the date of death on her mother's grave was only a month after Utagawa's.

She raised her arms in the air and laughed cheerfully, so carefree, like we weren't standing in front of her mother's grave. "Mom always said to be positive, to be happy. Alwaus, always, always."

I looked at her and pulled her into a hug. "Sakura…" I murmured, burying my face in her hair.

"Yeah?" she said quietly.

"You know…you don't always have to hide what you're feeling. If you're sad, tell me. You can cry, you can scream, you can pout, whatever. Nobody is going to resent you for being something other than happy," I said, stroking her back. Her shoulders started shaking and she pulled out of the embrace a little bit, looking at me with her wet emerald eyes.

--

**SAKURA**

It was exactly what Takeshi had told me.

"_Saku, get mad at me! Tell me you're not gonna talk to me! Scream! Cry!"_

I opened my mouth and closed it again, burying my face in his chest. "Let's go back to the car. I want to tell you what happened."

Syaoran grabbed my hand and kissed me gently. I pulled him in for a deeper kiss and I felt him smile against my lips. I quickly wiped away my tears and smiled at him.

"Is that a real smile? Not a 'I want Syaoran to think I'm okay so I'm just going to smile' smile?" Syaoran asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I smiled softly and said, "Every smile of mine around you is real."

--

**Wow, this was super late! I'm so sorry. Gosh, I feel like a broken record. But I hope you all liked this chapter and I hope it cleared some things up for you guys. *cough beginningofchapterfour cough* Oh and I hope I didn't bother you guys by switching from Sakura to Syaoran and back so much! Sorry again. |D  
**

**Next chapter is hopefully coming soon. It is winter break, after all.**

**=]**


	10. Epilogue

**Ten: Epilogue**

_Time, Time, Time_

Sakura hugged Syaoran and quickly kissed him on the lips.

"We're going to be late," she murmured when Syaoran wouldn't let her out of the embrace.

"Why do we have to do this?" he groaned.

She giggled. "Well, at the rehearsal dinner, we practice walking down the aisle. So that we don't trip or something."

Syaoran laughed. "Just because we practice doesn't mean you won't trip tomorrow."

Sakura pouted. "I want it to be perfect!"

"I don't," Syaoran said, kissing her. "I want it to be you and me."

--

Yeah, it's disappointing. I read over this story and I realized that it really had no plot or point. So I'm extremely sorry that I'm ending it like this, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging. Thank you so much for sticking with me and my dumb story. You guys are incredible, astonishing, amazing. I will write a good story for you Cardcaptor fans. Promise.

-Kiso


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